During the many years I have sold businesses, I have worked with many individuals in corporate positions in the purchase of a business. Common among most of them was that they were tired of working so hard for the corporation and wanted to do that work for themselves and earn the profits.
Many people spend part of their adult life working in an organization. The great majority of these people work full time jobs most of their adult life. The overwhelming evidence is that work can be a very positive force in our lives, and most people prefer working to not working. Different people work for different reasons and the reasons for any given person change over time. Work provides meaning for our lives and gives us goals, challenges, friendship and support. While retirement may be something many people talk about, the fact is that many retired people feel useless and bored. Since people want different things and because their needs change over time, the key to encouraging hard work is to match organizational rewards with personal desires. After years of working for a corporation, sometimes employees just lose their enthusiasm and need a change.
At this point, they begin to look at web sites, like BusinessBroker.net, and search for the businesses listed for sale. They ultimately find some of interest and contact a Business Broker. If you are at that point, contact the Business Broker with the listing in which you are interested. You will need to sign a confidentiality agreement and also fill out a buyer profile form. This will give the Broker some basic information, which will help determine other listings that fit your interest. The Broker will email a marketing packet to you, which will help you decide if the business will be of interest to you. If possible, you might want to meet with the Business Broker and get better acquainted. There is no need to call each Broker for each listing, as one Broker can work for you and get information on any business listed. That way you don’t have to send your information to each broker and go through the process of getting to know him/her. If you aren’t comfortable and do not have a good level of trust in the Broker, then meet with another one. The seller of the business will pay the commission, so there should be no need for you to pay anything to the Broker helping you.
After the Broker schedules an appointment to meet with the owner of the business in which you are seriously interested and you decide to make an offer, the Broker will write it for you. Sometimes buyers from the corporate world have helped their companies purchase businesses and did not give earnest money as part of their deals. In the small business world, the sellers expect an earnest money deposit to be held, usually by the closing attorney, until closing or until the deal falls through because of one of the contingencies in the offer. It is not a legitimate offer until there is a signed Offer to Purchase or Letter of Intent accompanied by a check of usually three to five percent of the purchase price.
Because of your experience in your corporate position, you are probably familiar with financial statements and are anxious to crunch the numbers. That is refreshing and makes the transaction go more smoothly. It is important for the Broker to be present at all meetings between the Seller and Purchaser, and the Broker is always available for any questions and to assist you with anything. You are respected for your knowledge and for the years you worked in the corporate world, but you aren’t expected to be an expert in purchasing a business, as that is probably new to you. The Broker is there to help. It is recommended that you select an attorney and an accountant for your business. It is also recommended that you and the Seller use a Closing Attorney, as he/she writes those closing papers regularly and it is also less expensive for both of you. Each of your attorneys would then review the documents.
Be sure to check on the possibility of using your 401k to buy the business. Find a business you like, buy it, and enjoy the world of entrepreneurship!
